Good and Evil

[dahrling]

Hello everyone

Recently I was watching Star Wars Part III (please keep reading) and one particular conversation bothered me.

Here is a transcript:

- Chancellor: The Jedi Council want control of the republic.
- Anakin: I don't think...
- Chancellor: Anakin, search your feelings. You know, don't you?
- Anakin: I know they don't trust you
- Chancellor: Or the republic, or democracy for that matter.
- Anakin: I have to admit, my trust in them has been shaken.
- Chancellor: Why? They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they? They asked for you to spy on me, didn't they?
- Anakin: I don't know what to say...
- Chancellor: Remember back to your early teachings. All who gain power are too afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi.
- Anakin: The Jedi use their power for good.
- Chancellor: Good is a point of view, Anakin. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power.
- Anakin: The Sith rely on their passion for their strength, they think inwards only about themselves.
- Chancellor: And the Jedi don't?
- Anakin: The Jedi are selfless, they only care about others.

Now, the question here is: are good and evil truly points of view?

In this particular movie for example, we're told that the "good" ones are the Jedi, because they're selfless, and even though they do desire control this is only because they want peace. The "bad" ones are the ones who do not agree with their current political system. I don't know what happens in the following movies (I have not watched them yet) but I know in the end the "Jedi code" is supposedly amended to make things more "grey".

Is there anyway to define good and evil in an universal sense - a definition that everyone, from every culture, can agree on?

And is being "selfless" truly a good thing - what makes it so? It may be "good" for others, but is it good for you? And is being selfish then "evil"? Putting your own desires and necessities first? Is there a limit to it? A line?

Also, take for example someone who is a Muslim and defends his/her book of teaching by saying that the evils it presents (like how a little girl was wed to Muhammad when she was only 6 years old, and how their marriage was consummated when she 9) were considered "correct" or "acceptable" at the time they happened. How does one respond to this? How can we argue against this if good and evil aren't universal truths, if they are only based on culture?